Gigi's Craft Night
by mamalehnumbers
Summary: (The Lizzie Bennet Diaries) (Welcome to Sanditon) Gigi is at craft night and tries to remember doing arts and crafts with her mother.


It was 6:52 on a Thursday night. Were it three months ago, Gigi would be out to dinner with her brother. But that was when she lived in San Francisco, and not here in Sanditon. She knew that home wasn't as far away as her imagination was making it seem. She'd made the three hour drive by herself, after all. But as the clock hanging on the wall slowly ticked the seconds away, time seemed to expand, and those three hours might as well have been three days.

She tapped her heel against the floor for a few moments, keeping her eyes focused on the ball of yarn and new set of hooks that sat on the coffee table. The hooks had been a gift from William. After Gigi had mailed both him and Lizzie five pot holders each, he decided that she would be needing a more extensive collection. They were beautiful, of course, but Gigi had rolled her eyes at the package when she opened it. Her potholders were just fine with the hook she borrowed from Clara — why did she need more?

Gigi looked back up at the clock. Staring at the yarn had distracted her long enough, it seemed, because it was now 6:55 exactly. "Thank God," she muttered, grabbing the yarn and hooks and running out the door.

She had haphazardly shoved everything in her bag as she locked the apartment door behind her, but then felt a little guilty staring at the now tangled mess. The hooks were gorgeous, and she knew that William had probably picked them out carefully for her. Gigi sighed and reached in to try and sort out the mess, walking carefully as she did so.

Once the hooks were untangled and placed in a separate pocket, Gigi looked back to where she was walking. Realizing she was already outside, she frowned and turned to look at her apartment building. She hadn't even noticed that she had walked all the way down the steps and closed the building door behind her. Had she honestly been living there long enough to be able to walk outside without even paying attention? She shook her head and crossed her arms, deciding not to answer that question.

Sanditon was a relatively small town, despite the amount of small businesses that seemed to pop up almost out of nowhere on a daily basis. The residential area was practically indistinguishable from the commercial (Gigi was 95% sure that some renters on the first floor were running a chiropractic office, but she'd never stopped to look), which made for easy transportation anywhere and everywhere. Walking to Sanditon Scoops took all of five minutes (a fact she had calculated during her first week), which meant that she had to wait until the very last minute if she didn't want to arrive early.

On the way, familiar faces started exiting the buildings along the road, either closing up shop for the day or just locking up front doors. It seemed as though the town had latched on to their Save Sanditon Scoops initiative, because each week, craft night attendance grew dramatically.

A blonde woman who Gigi recognized from the grocery store waved and smiled at her as she adjusted her own craft bag on her shoulder. Gigi returned the greeting but struggled to remember her name. Was it Eva? Ava? Either way, it was someone to walk with at least.

Gigi hastened her pace, hoping to catch up with the woman, but before she could, a new group of people surrounded Eva/Ava and started laughing at some joke Gigi hadn't heard. She frowned and slowed her steps. She had seen all those people before during her stay, but never had she held a conversation with any of them that had lasted longer than five minutes.

Now that she thought about it, the only people she'd really spoken to in Sanditon were the mayor, Clara, and Ed. Mayor Parker wasn't exactly someone Gigi would call up to chat on any given day, and Ed … well, ever since he started talking to Clara about something other than juice bars, he had lightened up a bit, but Clara was the only person Gigi had actually gotten to know.

Hadn't she been here for over a month now? Shouldn't she have met more people than that? Made a few more friends?

Gigi pushed the thought out of her mind and focused instead on who she would be crocheting a potholder for tonight. She hadn't sent Fitz one for a week now … Maybe Brandon could use one? Or maybe two?

—

"Hi, Gigi!" Clara wiped her hands on her apron and took a seat on the couch. "What're you working on tonight?"

"Another potholder." Gigi held up the half-made project. Her first one had taken her about five days to finish, but as the weeks went by, she had gradually gotten faster and faster. Now it only took her a few hours to get one made up if she was distracted.

Clara's eyes widened as she rubbed her fingers over it. "Wow, girl, you've really gotten the hang of crocheting, haven't you?"

Gigi laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I've just had a lot of time to practice."

"Well, since you're practically a professional already, how about you try something different tonight?"

"Like what?"

"Well, a certain someone has been trying his hand at knitting all night, and he seems to be getting pretty good at it." Clara nodded her head over to the left, where Gigi saw that Ed was knitting a very pink, very long scarf. "Now that he's got the hang of it, I'm sure he'd be willing to help you out!"

Gigi shook her head. "Oh, no, it's really fine. I'm making this for my friend Fitz, anyways, so -"

"Fitz … didn't you send him a potholder last week?"

"Well," she replied slowly. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Clara chuckled and took Gigi's hand. She stood to her feet and began walking Gigi over to the table. "Come on, my friend. It's time to try something new for a change. Hey, Ed?"

A few minutes later, Gigi had two metal needles in her hands and a ball of orange yarn sitting in front of her. Apparently Clara was passionate about more than just ice cream, because anytime anyone wanted to try a new craft, all she had to do was go in the back room to find any supplies they would need. She'd produced Gigi's needles in seconds, asked Ed to teach Gigi, then had been called over to another table for help with a scrapbooking project.

Gigi pursed her lips as she twisted the yarn into a slip knot and slid it on the needle.

"Oh, so you know how to do the slip knot," Ed stammered out, pointing his finger. "That's good. I mean, I guess you probably already knew how to do that from crocheting. Not that I would know. I've only been knitting for —"

"Ed," Gigi interrupted, holding up her hand. She gave him a small smile as an apology before continuing. "I appreciate the help, but I actually know how to knit already. You don't have to worry about it."

"Oh, oh okay," he said, sitting back in his chair with a grin and a sigh of what appeared to be relief. "I honestly don't know what Clara was thinking sending you over to me. Maggie taught me just a few weeks ago, so it's not like I'm an expert. Though I guess I did tell her the other night that I've been practicing …"

Ed's speech tapered off which caught Gigi's attention. His focus was not on her or his knitting though, and she smirked to herself. "You know, if you're really not that confident, you should probably go ask Clara if she has any tips for you. I'm sure she'd be willing to help you out."

He snapped his head back to her, and she could tell that he'd only caught the last few words she'd said. "Yeah, yeah … maybe I should." He smiled at Gigi and nodded at her before taking his craft over to the corner where Clara was sitting with a few other women, leaving Gigi to sit in silence yet again. It was just as well, she thought, since she really wasn't in the mood to have a conversation anyways. She turned her focus instead to the project at hand.

It had been years since she'd picked up any needles, but her hands had the method memorized. Insert needle into loop, move the yarn between the needles, then slip the needle over and under. Insert, move, slip. Insert, move, slip. Honestly, it was as though she'd never stopped.

Her mind drifted to years before, back when she used to knit almost constantly. As long as her homework was finished, Gigi had been allowed to watch television before she went to bed during the school week. Since William had diving practice on weeknights, she usually found herself watching their favorite shows by herself, picking at her fingers and waiting until he came home.

One night, though, her mom had noticed her sitting by herself in front of the tv. Hands on her hips, she'd sternly said, "Georgiana, you need to be doing something productive, and this isn't it."

"But, Mom," Gidi had said with a pout. "I've already finished my homework. I don't have to be productive until school tomorrow!"

Her mom had laughed softly, a sound that always cheered Gigi up no matter the situation. Mrs. Darcy stepped closer and sat on the couch, folding her hands in her lap. "Just because something is productive, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. Why don't I teach you how to knit? Your grandmother taught me, and you wouldn't even have to give up your shows to learn it. You could practice while you watch."

That night, Gigi was gifted with a skein of gray yarn (nothing acrylic, of course) and a pair of size 8 bamboo needles. She and her mother spent the next few hours together as she learned how to maneuver the yarn in order to make a coaster. Holding the needles correctly had taken some getting used to, but eventually, Gigi became so comfortable with them that she and her mother would just sit and talk with each other rather than watch the television or focusing on the projects in their hands.

"So what about knitting is productive, exactly?" she'd asked one night.

"Well, you're making things rather than just sitting around doing nothing. Creating is always productive, my dear. And besides, now you'll never be stuck wondering what to get anyone for birthdays and christmases," her mother had said with a wink.

"Okay, well, if you want me to have a productive hobby, then what about William's? Diving isn't going to make anyone Christmas presents, Mom."

"No, but that's a different sort of productivity, dear," she'd replied calmly. "William is spending time with George and the other boys his age. He's making friends along with getting in exercise."

"So it's still productive, then," Gigi had muttered to herself. They'd continued in silence for a while longer before she spoke again. "Why does everything we do have to be productive? I mean, I like knitting now that I can do it, but why couldn't I have just watched television?"

"Because we're given a short time on this earth, Georgiana. So short, that no time should be wasted. You should always try to make the most of the time given to you, do you understand?"

Twelve year old Gigi had nodded her head and continued knitting.

Twenty-two year old Gigi was now aware of just how true her mother's words had been. And now here she was, sitting in a crowded ice cream shop, knitting away just as she had with her mother ten years before. Ever since then, she'd always tried to keep her activities productive, but lately, it seemed as though everything she did was all for waste.

What was she even doing in Sanditon anyways? Trying to get information from a Mayor who seemed convinced that his town was something very different from what it was in reality? Rallying to keep an ice cream shop open that she hadn't even known existed until just a month ago? Uploading videos of herself talking to William? What was it all for?

The citizens had jumped at the chance to make use of Domino, so the app was being tested, and Pemberley was getting the information it needed. But the developers didn't need Gigi for that. She'd been sent here to help get Sanditon on the map, but really all she was doing was uploading short videos twice a week and eating ice cream.

"Gigi? How're you doing over here?" She looked up and saw Clara returning from across the room.

"I'm doing alright," Gigi replied, holding up what she had finished so far.

"Gigi, look at this scarf! It's amazing!" Clara started running her fingers along the edges and shook her head. "If I had known that you knew how to knit, I would have just given you needles weeks ago!"

Gigi was about to respond, but before she could, the bell at the register rang out. Clara peered over her shoulder at the little family waiting to be helped. "Well, duty calls," she said. She began to stand up, but quickly sat back down. "Oh! And before I forget! I wanted to thank you, Gigi."

Gigi hadn't expected to hear that, and her eyebrows furrowed together. "What for?"

Clara laughed like it was obvious. "For helping me save Sanditon Scoops, of course! If it wasn't for you, it probably wouldn't be around for much longer."

"Oh, I don't know if I believe that."

"Believe it!" Clara said with a nod of her head. "Tom hasn't been able to argue with the public's demand for my ice cream, and the information about him closing this place down wouldn't have gotten around without your help. You've been amazing, Gigi." With that, she left to go help the family at the counter.

Gigi picked her needles back up to continue, but she had to stop and think about what Clara had said. Maybe she hadn't been totally useless these past few weeks?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she placed her needles on the table. It'd been a while since she'd actually texted anyone, so seeing the notification about a snapchat from Fitz was a surprise. She shook her head and opened the message, then froze when she saw the picture.

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Fitz, Lizzie, and William were all out to dinner, and he had taken a picture with the three of them together. The caption read "Miss u GigiD! Proud of u!" Then just as quickly as she had opened it, the picture disappeared. The image was still burned on her mind, however, and she held the phone close to her chest.

Her family was back home, but they loved her. They missed her. They were proud of her. And she hadn't even been as useless as she had thought around here.

If Clara really thought she'd been of help, then maybe staying in Sanditon wasn't the mistake Gigi had started to worry about.

Maybe she was supposed to be here.

And maybe it was going to be hard, but that was okay.

Life is short, and she was going to make the most of the time given to her — even her time in this small, confusing, wonderful little town.


End file.
